Various types of adhesives have been fabricated for different, often specialized, applications. While many adhesives are liquids, e.g., glues or epoxies, such adhesives are often not suitable for all applications, for example those in which cleanliness or only a temporary bond are important. Numerous modern adhesives are solids and form reversible bonds. However, many such adhesives are very specialized, i.e., they may resist a delamination force in shear or tension, but not both. Furthermore, many individual adhesives adhere only to specific surface types, e.g., smooth, rough, hard, soft, etc. Certain types of adhesives also require a preload force (i.e., a force applied in a direction normal to a surface) in order to bond to a surface. Moreover, many mechanical “adhesives” such as electromagnets, electrostatic clamps, and suction cups require applied power or vacuum to maintain their bond.
Thus, while most adhesives function quite well for specific applications and limited surface types, there is a wide range of applications that potentially involve the need for bonding and delamination on multiple surface types in several configurations for which such adhesives may not work well. There exists a need, therefore, for adhesive systems that are more widely applicable and that compensate for deficiencies in individual adhesives.